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A number of sportspeople eligible for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro stated that they would not attend because of the ongoing Zika virus epidemic in Brazil. In the case of golf and tennis, media speculated that some absentees were unenthusiastic about competing in any case and used Zika as a convenient excuse. [1] [2]
| Sport | Athlete | Nat | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycling | Tejay van Garderen |  | [3] |
| Golf | Jason Day |  | [4] |
| Golf | Branden Grace |  | [5] |
| Golf | Dustin Johnson | | [6] |
| Golf | Shane Lowry |  | [7] |
| Golf | Rory McIlroy | [n 1] | [10] |
| Golf | Marc Leishman | | [11] |
| Golf | Charl Schwartzel | | [12] |
| Golf | Angelo Que |  | [13] |
| Golf | Vijay Singh |  | [14] |
| Golf | Jordan Spieth | | [15] |
| Golf | Graeme McDowell |  | [16] |
| Tennis | Milos Raonic |  | [17] |
| Tennis | Tomas Berdych |  | [18] |
| Tennis | Alexandr Dolgopolov |  | [19] |
| Tennis | Bob & Mike Bryan | | [20] |
| Tennis | Simona Halep |  | [18] |
| Tennis | Karolína Plíšková | | [21] |
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and commonly known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August. Rio was announced as the host city at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 October 2009.
Graeme McDowellMBE is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who plays on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. He is well known for winning the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where he ended a 40-year drought for Europeans at the tournament.
Rory McIlroy is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, having spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. He is a four-time major champion, winning the 2011 U.S Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, and 2014 PGA Championship. Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, he is one of three players to win four majors by the age of 25.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland or OFI is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the island of Ireland. Athletes from Northern Ireland have the option of participating under its auspices or in the Great Britain Olympic Team. Its mission statement is "To manage and enhance the performance of Team Ireland at Olympic Games whilst developing the Olympic Movement in Ireland." In 2018 the Olympic Council of Ireland was renamed as the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award is the titular award of the RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the Irish sportsperson judged to have achieved the most that year. The winner was originally chosen by a special panel of RTÉ journalists and editorial staff, but was selected by a public vote from a pre-determined shortlist in 2016. The first Irish sports award ceremony took place in 1985, and was closely modelled on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae. It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947. Zika virus shares a genus with the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. From 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward, across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic.
Golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held in August at the new Olympic Golf Course, built within the Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca zone.
The tennis tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Tennis Centre, from 6 to 14 August. The competition was played on a fast hardcourt surface used in numerous North American tournaments that aims to minimize disruption for players.
Ireland competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics, having attended every edition, either in its own right or as part of a Great Britain and Ireland team before 1924, with the exception of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany.
Slovakia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics after gaining its independence from the former Czechoslovakia.
Austria competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's twenty-seventh appearance at the Summer Olympics. Austrian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The Austrian Olympic Committee confirmed a squad of 71 athletes, 37 men and 34 women, to compete across 22 sports at the Games. The nation's full roster had one more participant than the previous two Games.
Romania competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's participation started in 1900, Romanian athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions: the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the period of the worldwide Great Depression, and the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
The Philippines competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1924, Filipino athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, but did not attend the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the nation's partial support for the US-led boycott.
Qualification for tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was not determined by any form of qualifying tournament, but by the rankings maintained by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
In early 2015, a widespread epidemic of Zika fever, caused by the Zika virus in Brazil, spread to other parts of South and North America. It also affected several islands in the Pacific, and Southeast Asia. In January 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus was likely to spread throughout most of the Americas by the end of the year. In November 2016, WHO announced the end of the Zika epidemic.
Roger Federer's 2016 tennis season officially commenced on 3 January 2016, with the start of the Brisbane International, and ended on 8 July 2016, with a loss in the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships.
Events during the year 2016 in Ireland.
Qualification for Golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is determined not by any form of qualifying tournament, but by the rankings maintained by the International Golf Federation.
Ursula Wikström is a Finnish professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour. She represented Finland at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the 2017 Ladies Finnish Open.
A number of notable controversies and concerns associated with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, emerged which were the subject of public debate and media commentary.